Previous

Nutraceuticals Show Promise for Fatty Liver

Back to News Homepage

Next

Fatty Liver Disease Symptoms to Watch for from Head to Toe

How Beets Can Boost Liver Health

Share

Follow Us

Editors at LiverSupport.com

Jul 5th, 2022

Print

Eating a balanced diet is one way to help improve liver health. If this type of diet includes vegetables in the form of beets, its benefits may be even greater.

Boost Liver Health by Eating More Beets

Several animal-based studies have found that consuming beets helps promote liver health and function. For instance, one piece of research found that after consuming table beets for 10 days, the animals had increases in certain liver enzymes and oxidative processes that were indicative of better liver health. (1)

Another study, this one published in Biomolecules in 2019, explains that beets are rich in antioxidants and have properties that offer promise for protecting the liver. (2) In this case, red beetroot was found to help prevent liver injury by reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and cellular death.

Since these studies have been conducted using animals, you may be wondering whether their results apply to humans. Experts at Stanford Medicine share that animals serve a critical role in biomedical research as they are biologically similar to humans, susceptible to the same types of health issues, and their shorter life cycles enable more comprehensive research across life spans and generations. (3)

An article in the Journal of Biosciences and Medicines adds that red beet has been used in traditional medicine for humans for centuries.

Its list of potential effects include:

• decreased joint pain
• reduced blood pressure and blood sugar levels
• and more. (4)

This article further indicates that, as a functional food supplement, this vibrant red vegetable is suggested to help protect against fatty liver, liver steatosis, and hepatitis.

6 Ways to Incorporate More Beets into Your Diet

Beets are one food that is easy to incorporate into your diet.

1. You can slice them up and put them on your salad or in your sandwich
2. Or you pickle them and give yourself a tangy side dish.
3. You can also sprinkle a bit of salt on the beets and roast them in the oven if you want something a bit more savory and warm.
4. Beets also combine well with tomatoes, making them a good addition to tomato soup.
5. Beets even complement potatoes. So, you can shred them together and create a healthy hash brown or latke.
6. You may also decide to put beets in your cole slaw, hummus, and salsa for additional tastes and textures.